Hey Peeps!
but most call me Tate or tater-tot. Then, there is my lovely husband who calls me sasquatch-Just ’cause he thinks I am sassy, it’s not cause I’m hairy I promise! Anyway. Moving on. Another exciting fact about me is that I am an alien. A legal alien permanent resident that is. I immigrated down to the Seattle, WA from Vancouver, BC, Canada, to be with my husband, Caleb (you will see me refer to him as “hubster” or “the hubs” a lot.) We currently live In Springfield, MO but will be back in Seattle in Summer 2020. As you may have guessed I have a passion for the 3 “Fs” of life: Faith, Food and fitness. Here’s why:
God is everything. Without Him we wouldn’t even have food or the ability to keep ourselves fit…cause we wouldn’t even exist right? Without Him, we can do nothing. I’m trying to learn to give up control of my life to Him, and it ain’t easy. But, they say nothing worth having is easy. I think that the Lord truly needs to be your primero uno in order to fully embrace and live out the amazing life that He wants for us.
I love me some good food. And, I am tellin ya’, this girl can EAT. But, I like to keep it MOSTLY healthy, at least 80% of the time. This hasn’t always been the case, and I used to live by a “95% healthy” rule. But now? I believe in no food rules. I believe food should taste good but also should be very nourishing to your body for the most part. Some say it can’t be done, but I am here to show you it can easily be done. Super duper easily in fact. But, I also believe in honoring your body and your cravings and sometimes this body craves a donut!
I can hear you groan. No one loves all the varieties of exercise out there (If they say they do, they lie.) I am an ACE certified personal trainer, Precision Nutrition certified nutrition coach, and a fitness fanatic, but I will NOT run. Ever. If a bear was chasing me, I would let it eat me ’cause I hate running that much guys. I like to lift weights, that’s my thang. But, exercise can and should be fun and enjoyable! Again, that can easily be done. Additionally, our body is God’s temple. He has called us to take good care of it in His name, and I believe that includes regular exercise and eating well. But, sometimes exercise can be taken too far and can become an addiction. I’ve been there and I had to take close to a year off any kind of exercise to heal my relationship with it. Now I move my body out of enjoyment and not for punishment for what I ate or what I want to look like.
I could stop there. You now know a tid bit about me and why I named the blog Food Faith Fitness, and that is probably enough info for most folks. However, I want this blog to be real guys. I don’t want it to seem like I live this perfect little healthy, full of joy and love and birds singing every morning and cinnamon and sugar and whatever kind of life.I don’t know where I was going there. Anyways, I struggle. A lot. And, it has to do with Faith, Food and Fitness. I want to be able to share things I am struggling with on here. Who knows maybe you can identify with some of the things.
When I was 12, I had an eating disorder. It was only for a short time, but I committed to it. So much so that in the course of 3 months I lost 30 lbs and wound up in the hospital, where the doctors told me that I could easily die any time. I stayed there for 5 weeks, followed by many months of bed rest at home, where I was not allowed to attend my high school. But, I made a text book recovery. I guess there is something that clicks when you’re a 12 year old that they could drop dead any second. I wanted life. I chose to take it back. As I learned from my eating disorder, when I do something I give it my all.
I lived fully recovered for the rest of my High School years- around 4 years or so. After graduating, I entered into a very serious relationship. Unfortunately, it was very controlling and after it ended, I went back to controlling the only thing I felt I could- food and exercise.
That break up led to 2 years of trying to achieve the “perfect” body, at the expense of a social life, happiness and most importantly, a personal relationship with The Lord. I began working with a fitness coach that had me on a very strict meal plan. I had to weigh EVERYTHING I ate out on a scale, to get the proper calories, and I ate the same thing every single day. For 2 years. 2 years guys! It was insane. I even thought about competing in the most vain thing a person could take part of-fitness competitions. I would have to put on a skimpy little bikini and get judged on my lean-ness and muscle definition. But, it sounded amazing to me at the time. I never went out to eat because it wasn’t “on plan” and I was afraid to go to social situations with food. But, I thought I was happy because the diet plan did work-I got LEAN. I had a 6 pack, and that is what defined my life
It wasn’t until I met Caleb that everything changed.
He saved me. He made me realize that God was nowhere near the primero uno in my life, and that I was not living the full, happy and amazing life that He designed for me. I quit the trainer. I tried to go off the diet plan. I got scared of gaining weight and ended up losing it (and I didn’t have anything to lose.) So, I put myself back “on plan” without the trainer, in order to gain weight. That was 6 years ago. And it took me 6 years to truly break out of being on a plan. To let go of rules. To heal my relationship with food and my body and to get healthy again.
I am updating this in 2019 and I can say I am free. It spent a good 8 years, and almost all of my 20s, obsessing over what I would or wouldn’t eat, how many calories I could eat and how much exercise I had to do. In 2018 I said enough was enough and I quit the gym and started eating. And eating A LOT. I gained weight. Healthy weight that I needed for my body to function and get my period back. Weight that told me body it was no longer in danger and in a famine. Weight that allowed me to think clearly and feel joy and life again and to not always be tired. Weight that allowed me to feel the difference between exercising because I HAD TO and because I wanted to. I took 9 full months off exercise to heal my body AND my relationship with exercise and I am working slowly back into it.
And, it feels amazing. Not obsessive. It feels joyful and health promoting.
Yes, I gained some weight. Yes, that was the hardest and scariest thing I’ve ever done. BUT, it was the most freeing and life giving thing ever. Some days I still struggle with my new slightly bigger and softer body. But, I love being able to eat what I want and enjoy my life again without stressing about calories or if its “on plan.” My metabolism is better than ever and I no longer constantly think of Food. I have life again. I only wish I would have chosen it sooner.
I really do love working out and eating healthy, DELICIOUS food. But, I also want to preach moderation. Having an eating disorder really taught me that moderation is crucial. It’s not good to get so wrapped up in “healthy food” or calorie content, that you start developing lists of foods you “can” and “can’t” eat, and miss out on life. It’s healthy to eat a cookie every once in a while – our brains need it! 🙂 That’s why you will see a variety of recipes on here – I don’t preach any specific diet. I preach intuitive eating and listening to and honoring your body and hunger. Sometimes I naturally like food that fits into a “special diet” like paleo or keto. But I am not eating those foods I think I HAVE TO. It’s because I like them and I like how they make me feel. But you might find me eating a sugar free almond flour muffin for breakfast and then going out to a “normal” ice cream place for an afternoon snack and getting ALL the sprinkles. I believe you can do both.
It’s less about what you eat and more about your why. And my why is no longer to change my body or because I feel guilty if I eat something different. I chose food that nourishes my body mostly but sometimes it doesn’t. And that food nourishes my soul.
You only have one life to live and you don’t want to look back on it and go “MAN I wish I would have just eaten that cookie.”
I think everyone, including myself, should learn to love the Lord, eat yummy, healthy foods and find a type of exercise you enjoy. I hope you follow along with me as I really try to practice what I preach.
